Confused
by vahanian
Summary: One shot. While chasing a Sabre-tooth tiger, Stephen gets knocked out. With his memory gone, will he trust his team or will he leave with Helen?


Stephen Hart hated the silence. It was the proverbial calm before the storm. He glanced around the supermarket at the other three members of his team. Connor Temple was hiding behind a stack of baked beans, slightly to his right Abby Maitland was watching the aisle behind them with her gun outstretched. Nick Cutter was sat opposite Stephen's hiding place watching the door, making sure that nothing could creep up behind them. He caught Nick's eye and waved his rifle in the air by way of a salute. Cutter grinned back at him and gestured by hand signals for him to go right while he went left, and then they would meet up in the middle. They had come to this supermarket because another anomaly had appeared, but this time a sabre-tooth tiger had come through, mauling the two guards that were on night duty. Stephen got to his feet and glanced around. He really hated the silence.

Cutter watched Stephen rise to his feet, looking left and right for any sign of the predator. Cutter also got to his feet and moved off to his left. He had gone no more than twenty paces when he heard a roar coming from the next aisle over. Knowing that Stephen was in trouble he raced back the way he came, praying to what ever god was listening that he would get there in time. When he got there he stopped dead in his tracks, the sabre-tooth had Stephen pinned to the floor, his rifle was the only thing that was stopping it from taking a chunk out of him. It picked Stephen up like a rag doll and tossed him down the aisle, causing him to crash into the wall at the end head first. He turned when he heard shouts and saw Connor throwing the tins of baked beans that he had been hiding behind, while Abby was firing tranquilizers at it. Racing forward Cutter added his own darts to the mix.

Stephen opened his eyes slowly, and looked up at the white washed ceiling above him. Remembering his dream of flickering glass shards in the sky and dinosaurs, he was glad to be awake. He groaned as he realised that he must be in the hospital.

"Stephen, are you alright?" asked a Scottish voice to his right.

He looked around and saw a man in his late thirties with straw coloured hair, and with concern in his eyes.

"Stephen?" asked the man again.

"Who are you?" asked Stephen with a frown. He saw the man's smile fall and he looked at Stephen in confusion.

"Do you know where you are?" asked the man.

"Hospital?" Stephen said with a shrug.

"Eh not quite. One second." he said as he got up and walked to the door.

Outside in the hallway of the ARC, Abby, Connor and Jenny all stood around waiting.

"How is he?" asked Connor.

"He doesn't know who I am, or where he is." said Cutter.

"He must have taken quite a knock to the head." said Abby.

They heard the sound of glass breaking and they all raced into the room, Cutter in the front. The window had been smashed through and Stephen was gone.

"Well that's slightly problematic." said Connor.

Stephen looked around him, he had ran about two miles away from the "hospital" and he was exhausted. His head was throbbing and he kept having these weird flashes of images in his mind of dancing glass in the sky, and for some odd reason a sabre-tooth tiger.

"Stephen, please don't run." said a female voice behind him. He spun around and saw a woman in her late thirties with short cropped black hair.

"Do I know you?" asked Stephen.

" Yes, its me Helen. You know that Cutter did this to you on purpose right. He's angry at you for sleeping with me." answered Helen. While he processed this new information he felt Helen take his hand, "Come on I know where we can go."

Cutter glanced frantically at the security camera's for the whole city. This was just one of the things that the ARC had access to, and for once he was grateful.

"Here." said Jenny's voice from behind him. He turned around and look at the screen. It showed Stephen running and then stopping to catch his breath. He spun around and Cutter could see another figure move into the camera.

" Helen," he said out loud, " I know where're they've gone." he said heading for the door.

"Helen what is that thing?" asked Stephen in wonder.

"It's an anomaly, that will take us to the past." said Helen, "come with me. Cutter did this to you, he will only try to kill you if you stay here."

"Don't do it Stephen." said a slightly angry voice behind him. He turned to see the man from the hospital standing behind him along with another man and two women.

"Helen I should have known it was you, what do you think you playing at?" he asked angrily.

"Just giving poor confused Stephen here the facts," replied Helen, " of how you wish him dead, and he how he would be better off coming with me through the anomaly." she finished with a slightly smug smile.

"No Helen, I won't allow you to take him. If he wants to go with you that's fine, but he's got to know everything, and not while he has a concussion."

Stephen looked between the two people. The woman, Helen, with her steely gaze, or the man standing silently behind him, with such panic in his eyes, that Stephen had to wonder what sort of friendship they had.

" I would like to stay and know the truth." said Stephen stepping away from Helen.

"Suit yourself." she said and she jumped through the anomaly.

Stephen felt his legs give way and he felt someone catching him, before the darkness rose up to claim him.

Stephen opened his eyes and looked up at the white washed ceiling above him for the second time.

"Stephen?" asked a voice.

"Cutter is that you?"

"Yes, boy am I glad you remember me." said Cutter with a grin.

"Me too, I can't believe I nearly fell for Helen's trick, and nearly went with her." Stephen said with a groan.

"But you didn't. Even with your memory gone, you still choose to stay with us." said Cutter with a touch of pride in his voice.

Just then Abby and Connor bounced into the room clutching a DVD.

"Look Stephen, we pick a film for tonight." said Connor, with a wicked grin on his face.

"What is it?" asked Stephen dreading the answer.

"Starwars." he said beaming.

"I wish I'd gone with Helen now." said Stephen under his breath so only Cutter could here.

"Me too, Stephen, me too." replied Cutter.


End file.
